Tate brothers maintain innocence as they arrive at Bucharest Court of Appeal over arrest extension

Andrew and Tristan Tate arrived this morning at the Bucharest Court of Appeal to contest the extension to their detention period.

Andrew, 36, was heard shouting, ‘you know I’m innocent!’ as he stepped out of a police van. 

The Court of Appeal will soon review whether the brothers and their alleged accomplices pose a danger to society.

They are currently held under investigation for allegedly ‘forming an organised criminal group, human trafficking and rape’.

If the appeal is successful, Andrew and Tristan Tate, 34, will be released immediately. If not, they will remain in detention until at least 27 February. 

Former kickboxing champion Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan arrive in court to attend their appeal in Bucharest, Romania on 1 February 2023

Andrew (L) and Tristan (R) Tate pictured on 1 February going to the Bucharest Court of Appeal

The brothers, as well as alleged ‘lieutenants’ Georgiana Naghel and Luana Alexandra Radu, are held in Romania on a pre-trial detention.

They received a preventive arrest warrant on 30 December 2022 and have since been held by the Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) in Romania, where both are based. 

Prosecutors initially argued the brothers, if granted bail, could ‘exercise psychic control’ over the people they are accused of trafficking.

Both have maintained their innocence. 

On 20 February, the Bucharest Tribunal extended the preventive arrest warrant from 29 January until 27 February, and could extend further.

The Tate brothers last month lost their appeal made against the first extension.

The four detained have not been officially charged of any crimes yet, and maintain their innocence.

Andrew and his brother moved into a converted warehouse in Romania in 2017, which they staffed with armed guards.

At their safehouse on the outskirts of Bucharest, the Tate brothers had a video chat studio where several women were found during a police raid in April 2022. 

Prosecutors claim the brothers lured women into the studio where they were sexually exploited through ‘acts of physical violence and mental coercion (through intimidation, constant supervision, control and invocation of alleged debts)’, and made to produce and share pornographic material. 

Andrew Tate is also accused of raping a Moldovan woman, who he alleges followed him from London, in March 2022, which he categorically denies. 

In January, he told the Bucharest Court of Appeal that the alleged victim moved to Romania with him voluntarily in November 2021.

Tate claimed she filed a rape allegation nearly six months later when he refused to give her money to buy a house and become a TikTok star. 

‘It’s time for this circus to end,’ he said at the time.

‘My case is not criminal, it’s political. It’s not about justice or fairness. It’s about attacking my influence on the world,’ read a post that appeared on his Twitter account on Sunday.

Andrew Tate’s views on women, masculinity and entrepreneurship, voiced in podcasts and shared online, became popular in 2022 as they were shared in short clips around social media.

He was ultimately banned from various platforms for misogyny and hate speech. 

Andrew Tate (R) pictured with police this morning ahead of his appeal in Bucharest, Romania

Andrew Tate (C) and his brother are under investigation for allegedly forming a criminal group, human trafficking and rape

While Tate maintains his innocence, Romanian prosecutors DIICOT said in a statement they had identified six victims in the human trafficking case. 

They said alleged victims were held under constant supervision against their will in the armed safehouse near Bucharest and forced to make pornographic content to be shared online.

They claim the women were sexually exploited, physically abused and mentally coerced (‘through intimidation, […] control and invocation of alleged debts’) by members of the group for financial gain.